The Malt House, Greenwich Village,NYC

Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest to this establishment for a complimentary meal. All opinions expressed in this post are my own

I spent the first chilly evening in New York City at a press dinner at the warm and inviting Malt House in Greenwich Village.

This American styled tavern offers an incredible selection of craft beers on tap and in bottles and cans, cocktails, wines and whiskeys.

What I love is that you can get a flight of beers for $10 or whiskeys for $25 (an incredible deal), which is a great way to taste some of the variety they offer.

The Malt House has a lot of charm with its exposed brick walls, original tin ceilings and exposed beams. It really feels like a cozy neighborhood tavern where “everybody knows your name”.

Executive Chef Armando Avila (ex STK and Five Napkin Burger) oversees the kitchens at both this location and the newer, gigantic location in the Financial District. He is very particular about everything being made in-house from pickles to sauces. Chef Armando takes tremendous pride in crafting each dish that comes out of his kitchen with his own personal touch.

We were served an astounding amount of food for our press dinner. One of the standout dishes for me was the “Mussels”. These steamed beauties were covered with a deliciously tangy yet mild sauce that I just couldn’t get enough of. The Malt House Black Angus Burger is definitely one of the winning dishes here made with a blend of short rib, chuck and brisket served with applewood smoked bacon, roasted cherry tomatoes, onion marmalade, crispy romaine, queso sauce on a brioche bun. This is a really nicely constructed burger with great flavors.

I wasn’t too crazy about any of the fried food we tried – it was all a bit too overly breaded and greasy for my palate but I would recommend trying their “BFG Wings” (baked, fried and grilled), which were really tasty.

Most appetizers come with a selection of their house made sauces out of which I though the ranch one was just excellent. The “Mahi Mahi Tacos” were also one of the crowd pleasers with its fresh, piquant flavoring.

For dessert the “Crème Brulee” was excellent with a really crispy caramelized top that gave way to a creamy interior with lots of real vanilla beans! The choco cake was over baked but was served with a really nice homemade vanilla ice-cream.

The Malt House offers great deals for happy hour Monday – Friday from 4 – 7 PM with great drink deals, dollar oysters and more. They also have a two-hour bottomless brunch over the weekends, which is definitely worth checking out.